Palin: Republican Nominating Process Helping Obama

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said Monday the Republican nominating process has created “some collateral damage for the GOP,” which has helped President Barack Obama’s rating numbers rise among the American people and the four remaining candidates should stop “beating up on each other” and focus on defeating the president.

“Unfortunately, I think that’s some collateral damage for the GOP through our nominating process, as the guys, the four who are left are kind of beating each other up instead of focusing on the main thing,” Palin told Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren. “The main thing is providing Americans really good reasons why we can oppose President Obama in November, what it is that they have to offer in terms of solutions.

“Right now, I believe they’ve kind of ignored what that focus should be, except in their speeches the night of primaries and caucuses — then they all kind of refocus on trying to defeat Obama,” Palin said. “But we need to make sure that they are using the debate platform that they have through the nominating process to focus on Obama.”

Palin also noted there seems not to be a lot of enthusiasm among the GOP electorate for the Republican candidates nor are they attracting many independents to the party.

“That glowing enthusiasm isn’t there yet — I believe a lot of that is in part the idea that it’s a foregone conclusion that Mitt Romney will be the GOP pick — he certainly has the establishment support and much of the media support,” Palin said. “I also believe that he is the one that President Obama would love to debate and to run against in November. So I think that that kind of tamps down that enthusiasm that no doubt we’ll see again, and all of us will do as much as we can to build that enthusiasm back up after our nominee is chosen.”

Palin said she believes that Newt Gingrich would be the best to “contrast himself” against Obama, but stopped short of endorsing the former speaker.

“Well, I think that Newt Gingrich would be the toughest debater, debating ideas and solutions, and his experience as one who had learned through the Reagan revolution what true conservatism is and how it is that with foreign policy, we need to provide that peace through strength in our world,” Palin said. ‘And how it is that we need to balance budgets and we need to slash budgets because we are going bankrupt, all those things that Newt has talked about in his campaign.

“I think that he could most brightly contrast himself against what Obama’s failed policies have done to this country through debates,” Palin continued. “So that’s why I say that Obama, I believe, would really fear having to debate Newt Gingrich.”